What’s going on with the Texans’ secondary unit?

After a rare lopsided loss during his tenure as head coach of the Oilers, Bum Phillips summed up the proceedings afterward by observing, “It just got worser and worser.”

“Dad always had a way with the English language,” Bum’s son, Wade, said Thursday while conceding that “worser and worser” was also pretty much how things went for his Texans’ defense Sunday when the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers blistered it with six touchdown passes in a 42-24 loss. Wade, who can hold his own with Bum in a quip contest, called the effort against Green Bay “a clunker.”

Only four quarterbacks in history have thrown more touchdown passes in an NFL game, and Rodgers became just the sixth active quarterback to pass for a half-dozen.

Phillips took exception to free safety Glover Quin’s contention that the Texans’ coverage — or lack of it — didn’t look as bad on video as it had in real time.

“It did to me,” Phillips said. “We got beat in some of our base coverages, and we got beat on the blitz when nobody covered the guy. That’s my fault. We can’t do those things.

“(But) it happens. (Baltimore) is another big challenge for us. We welcome the challenge. We’ve got to do better this week.”

What he’s most concerned with now is how his defense regroups against the Ravens, whose own 5-1 record has largely been built upon their explosive offensive prowess. Defense no longer rules the Ravens’ roost. Although quarterback Joe Flacco doesn’t possess Rodgers’ total package or his Super Bowl-winning résumé, he does have a bigger cannon.

“(Baltimore) is very strong on offense,” Phillips said. “They’ve been great on defense for a long time, but their offense is (near) the top of the league this year. They’ve got all the weapons. They’re a big-play team, and they’ve got big-play players. The quarterback has a tremendous arm. He bombed us a couple times in the first game last year (a 29-14 regular-season loss in Baltimore). He can out-throw your coverage.”

Simply too good
Truth to tell, Quin had a point. At least two of Rodgers’ scoring strikes had no business being completions. They were the result of threaded-needle passes and look-what-I-found receptions. Sometimes, a defensive back can do everything right and still get beat.

Defensive backs must have short memories when facing players of Rodgers’ — or Flacco’s — caliber. But, Quin said, “you can’t forget, or history might repeat itself. You never forget. But you do move on. You can’t get in a hole about it. We caught them on a night when Aaron Rodgers was making good throws and they were finishing with tough catches.”

The Texans also gave Rodgers costly do-overs, negating stops with penalties. The Packers’ touchdown on their opening possession came after rookie DeVier Posey lined up offsides on a punt, turning a fourth down into a first down. Another touchdown to start the third quarter followed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Connor Barwin for using a teammate for leverage on a field-goal attempt.

“You never know how the game would have went if we don’t get that first penalty,” Quin said.

But brooding and hand-wringing won’t help.

“I’ve been playing seven years, and this is a response league,” strong safety Danieal Manning said. “You’ve got to respond to what happened. We can’t do anything about that game, so we’ve got to respond and be better this week.”

The Texans confronted similar circumstances last fall and made a remarkable recovery. After Drew Brees torched them in the fourth quarter of what became a 40-33 New Orleans victory, the Texans steadied themselves and held defending AFC champion Pittsburgh to 10 points a week later. So precedent is on their side.

Quin believes the Texans will “refocus and get ready for an AFC opponent we’re tied with for the best AFC record. It’s a good thing what happened (against Green Bay) came against an NFC opponent. I have no doubt at all that we’re going to bounce back and show up ready to play.

“It’s like we were talking in the DB (meeting) room. Great teams can lose a game. But great teams don’t lose two in a row.”

Fans stream into the stadium as night falls on the HoustonTexans game against the Green Bay Packers, their first home primetime game of the season, at Reliant Stadium.

Fans stream into the stadium as night falls on the HoustonTexans game against the Green Bay Packers, their first home primetime game of the season, at Reliant Stadium.

Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle

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Broadcaster Bob Costas adjusts his hair before going on the air prior to the Houston Texans game against the Green Bay Packers at Reliant Stadium.

Broadcaster Bob Costas adjusts his hair before going on the air prior to the Houston Texans game against the Green Bay Packers at Reliant Stadium.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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A fan wears a jersey made of a Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers jersey sewn together with the word "conflicted" written across the back as he arrives at Reliant Stadium for the Packers game against the Texans. less

A fan wears a jersey made of a Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers jersey sewn together with the word "conflicted" written across the back as he arrives at Reliant Stadium for the Packers game against the ... more

Photo: Smiley N. Pool / Houston Chronicle

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Texans head coach Gary Kubiak watches his team warm up before facing the Green Bay Packers.

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak watches his team warm up before facing the Green Bay Packers.

Photo: Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle

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Texans fans Letty Vera, left, and her brother Mike Batalla pose for a picture on her phone before the Texans game against the Green Bay Packers.

Texans fans Letty Vera, left, and her brother Mike Batalla pose for a picture on her phone before the Texans game against the Green Bay Packers.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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Alex Richards, left, and his brother Arnaldo Richards make paella during a tailgate party outside Reliant Stadium before the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers Sunday Night Football game.

Alex Richards, left, and his brother Arnaldo Richards make paella during a tailgate party outside Reliant Stadium before the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers Sunday Night Football game.

Photo: Brett Coomer / Houston Chronicle

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J. R. Zelaya poses for a friend's photo at Reliant Stadium.

J. R. Zelaya poses for a friend's photo at Reliant Stadium.

Photo: Karen Warren / Houston Chronicle

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Houston Texans fans party on top of the Southern Star tailgating bus at Reliant Stadium.

Houston Texans fans party on top of the Southern Star tailgating bus at Reliant Stadium.